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I'm a pretty loose parent as far as snack times go. I don't generally let them have a snack within an hour of dinner because I do want them to eat dinner. Dinner for us can be anywhere from 5:30 to 6:30. For me the biggest key is as long as the snacks they're eating are healthy, then I am happy. My daughters wake up around 6AM and will get breakfast by 7 or 7:30, then they'll generally have a snack by 9, a second one by 11--by snacks I mean things like apples, cheese and crackers, peanut butter toast, raisins. Then they get lunch between 12 and 12:30, a snack again around 1 or 2, perhaps another light snack around 4, then dinner between 5:30 and 6:30 and then a snack before bedtime, so around 7:30 or so.

I will generally be a little flexible about snacks--I ask them what they want, sometimes they go for healthy, sometimes they go for not healthy, but if they've had one less healthy snack, like gummy bears that day I just say "You've already had something with lots of sugar why don't we do something else like some grapes?" and that is usually okay. I give them alternatives. When it comes to dinner, they don't get a choice. They either eat what I made for dinner or they don't eat, and they don't get anything else but water until bedtime. They get to tell me what they'd like for lunch and breakfast, and if we don't have what they want then I give them a list of alternatives and they choose from that.

My kids were mostly grazers as far as snacks went. My son didn't have too many issues with dinner, he ate most everything untill he turned 3, then got picky. My daughter just grazed her way untill she was about 3, at that age I knew what she liked and what she didn't. If she decided to not eat the dinner I made, then she went to bed hungry. Or if she played around at the table instead of eating, she got sent from the table and didnt get any bedtime snacks. I'm not a short order cook, I make one meal and we all eat the same thing.

I did in the beginning but now, years later, our schedule is set and my dd is very open to trying new foods. Take your kids grocery shopping with you and have them pick out things they want to try. When my dd was home all day we would have breakfast whenever we were both awake, a small snack 2 hours later. Then lunch a couple hours later. We pretty much had either a small meal or snack every 2-3 hours.

We eat when we're hungry around here. My son is a good eater. I let him snack through the day, but he eats breakfast before he's allowed to snack, and lunch is usually right before nap, and he knows if he doesn't eat lunch he won't get an after nap snack until he finishes his lunch food. We all eat dinner together, so we have a late dinner since my husband doesn't get home until about 8. If he doesn't eat dinner he doesn't get dessert. I don't care if he eats what we eat for meals as long as he's picking healthy, balanced food.

For example, on days we sleep in, we might not eat breakfast until 10:30, assuming we wake up at 9:30. I usually want fruit or yogurt and granola, and he usually wants breakfast burritos or cereal and toast, so I make it for him. Then he's free to snack until lunch, which might be at 1:30 or 2. He usually wants a PBJ and carrot sticks, and I can't eat peanut butter, so I'll make salad or a baked potato for myself. Then he naps until 4ish. If he didn't finish his lunch he finishes it when he wakes up and then he can snack until around 6:30. He helps me cook dinner, and if he doesn't like it I might make him something else like a sandwich with meat, cheese, and LOTS of avocado because he doesn't like meat unless there are tons of veggies with it, but normally he likes what I make for dinner. If he eats his dinner, he gets dessert with us. Frozen yogurt, ice cream, a couple chocolates, spicy caramel corn... If he's hungry right before bed time, which is 10:30 or 11ish, he gets sourdough toast and milk.

He's a picky eater in a weird way. He doesn't like meat very much, but if I make it with lots of veggies or cheese he will eat it. He likes weird foods for a 2-year-old. He likes bleu cheese and other "adult" cheeses, bell peppers, salsa, almost all veggies, onions, garlic, herbs, and a handful of fruits.

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